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| Aston Furnace in 1753, drawn by R. R. Angerstein.** |
Aston Furnace, now demolished, was on the Hockley Brook, near where Porchester Street is today. The current site is grade A listed, although it has been built on. The original furnace was for iron and was first noted in 1615. In the late 1600s it was run by the renowned Jennens ironmasters, who also worked Bromford Forge. British History Online states that there is no evidence that the furnace itself was water-powered, but that the brook was used to power the bellows.*
In 1753 Aston Furnace was visited by a Swedish ironmaster, Reinhold Angerstein, who described it and produced several illustrations (included). At this time the furnace was being run by Abraham Spooner and Edward Knight, who were also working Bromford Forge and Nechells Slitting Mill.* Angerstein's description was quite technical, as he was researching for his own business, but is an interesting insight into the original site:
The Aston iron furnace, where ore is smelted to yield iron, is located a mile from the town [of Birmingham]. It is built in the same way as the furnaces in Hanover and in most parts of Germany. The height is 24 feet, the opening at the top is 2 feet square, and the shaft widens downward until the bosh is reached and then contracts to the hearth, which is shaped like a parallelogram. Charcoal made from oak, ash and birch is used here and the wood is purchased by the cord, which is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high, and costs 13 to 14 shillings. The ore is obtained from the coal mines six-and-a-half English miles away. It looks like blue clay that has hardened and contains remains of twigs. Seventeen tons a week can be made here. There are six workers at the furnace, who are paid 3 shillings [per week] and 17 pence per ton [of iron] and produce 17 tons per week. The furnace is charged every half-hour with six measures of coal, 36 inces long by 4 ½ inches wide, and nine measures of ore 18 inches long […] Four ‘Bird’ or dozen measures of coal per 24 hours.
The bellows were made of leather, 18 feet long, and cost new between £60 and £70. The cam [on the drive shaft] consisted of a large piece of wood that could be moved back and forth in case the alignment between bellows and shaft varied.
The overshot water wheel was 21 feet in diameter and constructed in the Swedish manner with closed buckets. The furnace itself was built of brick with flying buttresses at two corners (fig). During its last blast the furnace worked for three years except for 11 days.**
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| The bellow in Aston Furnace, drawn by R. R. Angerstein.** |
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| The furnace, drawn by R. R. Angerstein.** |
Into the Nineteenth Century
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| Aston Furnace in 1844 with Birmingham in the background. Held by BMAG. |
Furnace Lane (photo below) was formed in about the 1870s leading up to the site of the furnace, as the area became built up. The furnace itself was demolished in the late 1880s.*
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| Furnace Lane, 9 November 1968, by Phillis Nicklin. Held by University of Birmingham.*** |
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| Furnace Lane, 9 November 1968, by Phillis Nicklin. Held by University of Birmingham.*** |
NOTES
* British Histoy Online: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp253-269
** R. R. Angerstein's Illustrated Travel Diary, 1753-1755, translated by Torsten and Peter Berg (2011): https://books.google.co.uk/books?redir_esc=y&id=YK_siPOmoVAC&q=birmingham#v=snippet&q=birmingham&f=false
*** University of Birmingham ePapers Repository online: http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/2341/ & http://epapers.bham.ac.uk/452/